Second Mama's Day
by Lantus
Summary: Fate's had a rough day, but maybe it's just because there is something important she's forgotten...


The morning sun broke through the scattered clouds, shining on the lands below. Creeping across the dawn sky, it stumbled upon a certain window, and paused a moment to peek inside. The woman inside groaned quietly, rolling onto her side, attempting the block the glaring light with her long blonde hair. Moving onward, the light rolled forward across the military base, just as the sounds of small running feet echoed down the hallway and out of the bedroom...

**Second Mama's Day**

**Lantus**

Hearing a small startled yelp of annoyance behind her from her wife, Fate rolled over onto her back to see what was going on just in time to catch a small blonde bundle of energy directly onto her stomach. Winded by this sudden attack, still bleary eyed from sleep, she flailed about for a moment, overbalancing both herself and the small girl on top of her. With a wordless cry of surprise, off they went, rolling onto the floor below the bed.

Groaning in sore pain, the blonde woman saw a smiling Nanoha above her, peering over the side of the bed. Taking stock of the moment quickly, Fate noted with a small amount of pride that despite the sudden assault, she had managed to break her daughter's fall to the floor below. Shifting her grip on the young girl on top of her, Fate rolled her eyes at the giggling Nanoha above.

The relative peace was quickly broken, however, once the stunned Vivio on top of Fate realized what she had done. "I'm sorry, Fate-mama! I... I didn't... mean to-!", and with a wail of tears, the morning was started.

. . . . .

Walking down the cool gray hallways of the base, Fate jumped a little as she felt a hand lightly slap her on the shoulder. Turning, she saw Signum, who had one eye raised at her strange reaction. "What's wrong, Testarossa?"

Fate shook her head, rubbing her shoulder with one hand. "Oh, nothing. Rough morning. Vivio decided to wake me with a tackle."

Falling in beside her friend, Signum shook her head. "Does she normally sneak up on you so easily? Perhaps I should rethink our rivalry, if that's all it takes to get past you defenses..."

"Signum! That doesn't... I mean she..." Fate paused in her flustered protest, seeing the small smirk the pink haired woman had. Folding her arms, she tossed her hair back in annoyance. "Normally I wake before her. _Someone_ let me sleep in today, for some reason."

-I apologize, Sir. I was told it was appropriate to let you sleep in today.- Bardiche spoke up.

Fate sighed. "I don't know what's gotten into everyone this morning..."

Smirking at the flustered girl, Signum threw her arm over Fate's shoulder, chuckling a little at the small jolt she got from her friend's shoulder. "Come, Testerossa. We're going out to lunch."

. . . . .

Slowly idling through the busy parking lot, Fate frowned as she had had to stop and wait for an older lady pull in, stop, back out, and re-line up with the chosen parking spot. Tapping her foot on the clutch in annoyance, she took the time to look around the bustling mall, watching people hurry in and out with small bags and goods.

'Normally when Signum brings us here, it's not nearly this busy. It's the middle of the week, on a work day. Why are there so many people shopping on their lunch break...?' Musing to herself, she slowly pulled past the other driver's terrible parking job, happy to finally be free of the crazy packing lot.

-Sir, incoming call.-

"Patch them through, Bardiche." Pulling onto the highway, she half watched the monitor with one eye as she threaded her way into traffic. Nanoha's smiling face appeared.

"Thank you, Raising- Fate-chan! Good, are you still downtown?"

Glancing at the monitor, Fate nodded. "Just getting on the highway now, but yes. Why?"

"When you come home tonight, could you pick up a small bag of potatoes?" Watching the road, Fate idly noted Erio and Caro walk by in the background, waving bye to Nanoha.

"Sure, I can do that. I've got a long lunch today, but I'm working a little late tonight. I've got a meeting with Hayate about deployments." Fate pausing a moment, weaving between two large shipping trucks. "I could drop it off before I go back to base though. What kind should I get?"

Nanoha brought one finger up, thinking. "Oh, whatever you like, I guess. I don't have a preference." She shrugged, pulling her coat back on as she stood up from the table she was sitting at.

"Ok, see you then." Closing the call, Fate up-shifted to get around traffic, diving through the cars now that she had a mission.

. . . . .

Stepping into the grocery store, Fate noted with some annoyance that it was just as busy here, too. Deciding it would be best to just move quickly and be done with the place, she pushed her way into the crowd, red eyes scanning the wall for the fresh produce section. Fighting past a group of chatting teens, she finally made her way to the vegetable stands, wishing people would just go home already.

Pausing at the potato section, she scanned it quickly with her eyes, trying to decide which to take. Red, yellow, blue, brown... she frowned as tried to remember what types Nanoha liked. They didn't get them often, though Fate didn't mind them herself. She couldn't help but wonder what sort of dish they were intended for.

"Fate-san? Didn't think we'd see _you_ here!"

Turning around, the blond raised an eyebrow as she noticed Subaru and Teana standing behind her, where they appeared to be looking over a stand of peaches. They each had a basket, and it looked like they had been shopping for a while.

Fate narrowed her red eyes, suddenly suspicious at their appearance. Shouldn't they be...? "Me? What are _you two_ doing here? Are you skipping class?"

"Huh? What? Nonono!" Subaru blinked, then started waving her hands wildly, trying to calm down her superior. If it wasn't for Tea standing there at the ready to catch the basket, her food would have spilled all over the grocery floor. "We got let out early today!"

Fate frowned, unsure if their story was believable or not. Turning her gaze from the agitated Subaru, she tried to read her companion's expression. Teana looked... a little morose, to tell the truth. The girl's blue eyes looked distant and distracted, though she had caught her partner's shopping basket deftly enough.

Looking up, the quiet girl startled a little when she realized she was being stared at, then shook her head a little to come back to the present. "No, really, Fate-san, Subaru's telling the truth. Nanoha-sensi called a half session today."

Fate frowned at that, pondering. 'Now I'm _sure_ something is up. Nanoha-chan _never_ cuts class early unless Vivio is sick or something... What does she have planned?'

Mistaking her distrustful look as one of disbelief of their alibi, the blue haired girl cut in abruptly, attempting to turn the subject to something less potentially disastrous. "So, we, you see, decided to, uh, come by to pick up some things... Ginga and I always do something nice with father today and...Tea's tagging along cause, well, you know how she is this time of the year... "

She glanced at her friend, trying to decide if they should make a break for it or not. Tea just shrugged, indicating that they still had groceries that they had to buy. _Why are you looking at me, you're the one who yelled out to her in the first place..._

Subaru rolled her eyes. _Some help you are..._

Glancing back at the potatoes, Fate abruptly grabbed the nearest one bag, stomping off towards the front of the store. For all observers, she had appeared to have forgotten the students entirely. Watching her walk away, back rail straight, the two forwards stayed perfectly still for a moment as she left. Waiting until their mentor had gone, they shared a glance, then decided they could wait on purchasing their items a little while longer...

. . . . .

Sitting behind her large desk, head propped on one hand, Hayate looked absolutely bored as she scrolled through various files on her monitor. "Look, I can stall her for a little bit, and there IS some actual things I want to discuss with her, but I don't know how long I can keep her here. Signum almost ruined it earlier, I hear, taking her out to lunch and all. Luckily, that's not too out of the ordinary, but still, she could have picked a better day."

The brown haired girl in the video chat monitor sighed, pulling a few items out of bags. "Well, thanks anyway. Vivio is being a big help, helping me wash things and set up the table. We should be ready before she gets back. I don't think I mentioned, but thanks, Hayate!" She smiled at the camera, thanking one of her closest friends.

The woman behind the desk smiled, deciding on the proper mix of utterly boring budget reports and just enough actual work related material to keep this a semi-legit visit. "Hey, no problem! Just get a vid, I want to she her expression! See you later, NanohiFate!" Finger hovering over the 'end message' command, she slammed it close as her door slide open, to reveal a positively annoyed looking Fate.

"Uh, thanks for coming, see, I got some things I have to ask you..." Sputtering out her greeting, Hayate groaned internally, noting Fate's irate mood. _Nanoha-chan, you owe me ice cream for this! _

. . . . .

Slamming her car door shut, Fate stalked across the short driveway to her home. Everyone was being so... aggravating today, and it was finally starting to get to her. Crossing the lawn, she sighed heavily as she got the front door. 'What did Hayate want me for, anyway? Couldn't she have just forwarded that information to Bardiche?'

Opening the door, Fate stopped when she caught a whiff of a unfamiliar smell drifting down the hall. She heard a clatter of dishes, then heard Nanoha's voice call out to their daughter to be careful with a spoon. 'Did they start dinner without me...?'

Tossing her jacket onto the nearby coat rack, she walked down the hallway with a frown. Her eyes widened when she got the dining room, where she caught the Nanoha putting a large cut of steak down in the center of the table, surrounded by all sorts of other food. Dropping the large sauce spoon she had into the mashed potatoes, Vivio caught sight of Fate first, streaking around the table and latching onto her leg. "You're home, Fate-papa!"

Nanoha giggled as she turned around, cute apron around her hips, hands covered in large oven mitts. "Seems she caught us, Vivio." Smiling up at Fate, she beckoned over to her usual seat.

Fate wordlessly sat with a thump, still confused as to these strange events. Why did they make all this food...?

Nanoha hummed happily to herself, filling the blonde's plate with steak, mashed potatoes, carrots, and all sorts of hearty fare. "Nano... what's going on?"

Vivio beamed from her seat, bouncing up and down in her excitement, trying to fill her plate with everything within reach. "Happy Second Mama's Day, Fate-papa!"

"Fate-papa...?" She looked at Nanoha, a small frown on her face. "When did she start calling me that?"

The brown haired girl paused while spooning gravy, looking down at Fate. "You're not trying to imply that I should be the Papa, right?" She raised an eyebrow in small annoyance.

Blinking in sudden alarm, Fate took the hint, glancing to the side. "No, I had no such intentions..."

Smiling again, Nanoha gave Fate a kiss on the forehead, handing her the plate of food she had prepared. "Happy Father's Day, Fate-chan."

Vivio spoke up, illustrating her point with one mashed potato covered spoon. "They said at school it was Father's Day today. We had one for Nanoha-mama earlier this year, remember? But, Fate-mama is Fate-mama not Fate-papa, so today is now Second Mama's Day!" She smiled happily up at her two mamas, well secured in her childish reasoning.

Fate sat back in her chair, previous anger totally forgotten as the days events settled into her mind. 'That's why everyone was so busy... I didn't even think about it because I've never had...' She smiled up at the two loves of her life, tearing up a little, reaching out to grab Nanoha's apron before she could slip away.

"Thank you, girls. I love it." She reached her arms around the other woman's waist, pulling her close, resting her cheek on her hip as they watched their daughter dig into her meal.

"But... Nanoha-chan... Why did we have steak and potatoes. We never eat those..."

"Nya haha... Well... I wasn't sure what to make, to be honest... I decided to just go with what we always made dad growing up..." She nervously laughed, contentedly running her fingers through the blonde girl's hair.

"I think the idea is to make what _I_ like to eat, not your dad's favorites..." Fate teased, chuckling as they watched Vivio loose control of her spoon, flinging potatoes off the table. "You know, Nanoha-mama, I've had a rough day today... And I love the meal, but..."

Nanoha sighed, ruffling her love's hair. "Yes, yes, this day is suppose to be for you. Finish your meal and relax. I'll handle Vivio."

Watching their daughter yelp as she dripped gravy down her shirt, Fate was reminded why they never eat these sorts of foods. She couldn't help but laugh at the calm, heartwarming scene of mother and daughter trying to clean up after themselves.

"You're the best, Nanoha!"

. . . . .

. . . . .

Author's Note: Well, a couple days late, but this was an idea that popped in more or less fully formed, and I just had to get it out onto paper. I know it's kind of choppy, it's a little steam-of-consciousness-y but I hope you enjoyed!


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